Abstract
Miscibility of polymers decides the applicability of the resulting blends and immiscible polymer blends can be made compatible with suitable compatibilizer. Miscibility of blends of guar gum (GG) and methyl cellulose (MC) in common solvent water were studied by refractive index, density, ultrasonic velocity, and dilute solution viscometry methods at 30°C and 40°C. Based on these measurements, it is found that the polymer blend of GG/MC is immiscible. The effect of compatibilization with 0.02 wt% maghemite nanoparticle was studied in aqueous solution and found that 10/90 GG/MC blend is miscible in the presence of maghemite. Solution cast technique was used to prepare thin films of GG/MC blend – maghemite composite and characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) method.
Highlights
Polymer blends are tailor-made materials for specific applications
guar gum (GG)/methyl cellulose (MC) blend compared with refractive index (RI) values of pure GG and MC both at 30°C and 40°C (Fig. 3)
The higher RI value after the maghemite addition may be due to the brownish-red color of the maghemite nanoparticle and the RI measurement technique may not be considered as a suitable proof to assess the miscibility of the blend maghemite composites with GG and MC
Summary
Polymer blends are tailor-made materials for specific applications. The researches on polymer blends have gained considerable interest due to the reduction in the cost of production, improved processability, and improved properties [1]. Extensive studies on the miscibility of polymer blends by different techniques have been reported earlier by different researchers [4,5,6,7,8]. The miscibility of polymer blends is studied and confirmed by using density, refractive index, ultrasonic interferometry, viscometry, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopic (FTIR) methods [9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17]. Guar gum (GG) is an extremely hydrophilic natural polymer with high viscosity. This property has allowed GG to be commercialized in fields such as textiles, foods, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and oil recovery and drilling [13, 15]. Methylcellulose is a semi-synthetic water-soluble polymer derived from cellulose and is used as a thickener in the food industry, and as a matrix for the controlled release of drugs in the pharmaceutical industry [18]
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